UFC 117: Buy Rate Expected To Reach Aprox 1 Million

As we reported in the aftermatch of Saturday night’s UFC 117: Silva Vs Sonnen event, Dana White was anticipating ‘a big number’ from the pay-per-view sales, and according to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer today that is indeed the case.

“The feeling from the UFC side Monday was that it’s likely going to finish at around a million buys or maybe just underneath that,” Said Meltzer who is often the first to report the pay-per-view numbers.

It should be stressed that at this stage this is still an estimate but anything around that figure would be exceptional as this was never expected to be an event that would draw such a number. Anderson Silva has never been a particularly big draw for the company despite his world class record and fighting abilities.

Therefore it’s clear that the UFC have much to thank Chael Sonnen’s for due to his pre-fight trash-talking which apparently made all the difference to the overall numbers.

If these numbers prove to be true then they will continue an unprecedented spell of success for the UFC in the pay-per-view market since March’s UFC 111 card when the promotion got back to full steam after an injury-plagued six month spell.

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.

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